The next generation of kitchen and bath designers depends on great educators.
By Dianne M. Pogoda
A ubiquitous bumper sticker reads, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” For homeowners, that might be tweaked to, “If you love your kitchen, thank a design teacher.”
The kitchen and bath industry, like any other, relies on the passion and dedication of instructors to pass the knowledge, skills, and practical application of the craft to rising designers, tradespeople, and specifiers.
Whether these instructors are educators by trade or teach in addition to pursuing their own professions within the industry, they share an affinity for the subject, a desire to nurture, and they gain immense satisfaction in giving back to the community.
Paula Kennedy, CMKBD, juggles her own business — Timeless Kitchen Design in Seattle — and teaching as an adjunct professor at Highline Community College in Des Moines, WA, and at the Heritage School of Interior Design, also in Seattle. She’s also an NKBA-approved CEU speaker at the Voices from the Industry Conference at KBIS and at chapter events. She teaches an introductory course to interior design at Highline, and kitchen and bath design at Heritage.
“There’s something great about teaching and giving back to this industry that I love so much, and to the next generation,” Kennedy said. “The next generation is where it’s at. I learn so much from them, they look at things so differently. It’s something in my DNA — my father was a teacher, too — I do believe the more we teach, the more we learn. The act of teaching takes us into a whole different level of learning. If you want to learn your craft like an expert, teach it. If you can teach it, that means you really know it. You know it deep down, it’s not just ‘head knowledge.’”
Jim DePietro has been with Lehigh Carbon Community College, an NKBA Affiliated School in Schnecksville, PA, for 37 years. He’s currently Technology Coordinator, overseeing all the department’s programs and teaching in each discipline: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Construction Management, Kitchen and Bath Design, and Heating and Air Conditioning. His goal was to be a teacher, and he graduated with a degree in industrial teaching from Millersville University. But before pursuing a career in education, he spent about eight years in manufacturing, working from machinist to supervisor and then into engineering. He began teaching night classes at LCCC and finally took a full-time teaching position in 1987.
“My industrial experience was the most invaluable time of my career to shape me into the instructor that I am,” he said. “LCCC is accredited college, and it has helped as a recruiting tool as some folks like the idea that we truly are backed by a national association and our curriculum is based on a professional platform.”
Becoming a Teacher
There are several routes to becoming an instructor at the post-secondary or college level. The requirements are different for a full professor compared to an instructor level or adjunct professor.
“The qualifications for becoming a college professor are either a minimum of a master’s degree in your field or a bachelor’s degree with related experience,” said DePietro. “That is the path that I came in under until I did get my master’s degree.”
DePietro said teaching at the college level is “extremely satisfying.”
“It challenges me to give the students the best experience possible and help them to mature and take on responsibilities that will prepare them for their professional careers,” he said. “In addition to teaching, our responsibility is also to place them in technical positions. So, to see them through their educational experience and then to assist in obtaining a job is extremely satisfying. I would highly recommend this profession to anyone.”
For Kennedy, the journey was different. She had been on the advisory council for Highline for years, well before she started teaching, and she occasionally spoke at the school.
“I always thought that someday, I’d like to teach — but I didn’t have a master’s degree, and most colleges require a certain level of education,” Kennedy noted. “But one of my friends on the advisory council suggested that being an adjunct professor had different requirements, so that’s how I was able to qualify as an instructor. There are multiple pathways to becoming an educator.”
She said her industry experience has brought a different dimension to her classroom. “My students love it that I am active in the business and not solely a full-time educator, because they see that this is an attainable goal,” she observed. “I can bring real-life experiences to the classroom, and take them on field trips to a job site or a showroom.”
Kennedy said she wasn’t always comfortable speaking in front of crowds, and was shy in her younger years. “If you’re not comfortable speaking, you can learn how to do this, how to gain confidence,” she advised. “You can learn to create a curriculum, so don’t let that hold you back.”
The Bottom Line
No matter how they landed in the classroom, the educators concur that they get as much from teaching as their students.
“At my core, I love connecting with and inspiring people, and if I can do that, there’s nothing greater than inspiring someone else to go beyond their limitations,” said Kennedy. “Inspiring them and giving them confidence to continue on their path is so rewarding. What I learn from them is incredible. Seeing the ‘a-ha’ moments on their faces and the feedback about what they learn and how I teach is amazing.”
DePietro mused, “Some days I find it hard to believe that I get paid for having so much fun. I believe our program is so unique in that the students get to build a real kitchen and bathroom and have such an amazing project experience they can include in their portfolio.
I am so fortunate to walk this path in life and call it a career.”
NKBA | KBIS is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of K&B professionals through its Students of the Industry membership program and student chapters (sponsored by Sub-Zero Wolf and Cove), Affiliated Schools, and the Student Design Competition (sponsored by Fisher & Paykel and supported by Chief Architect).
To learn more about these programs and student resources, visit the NKBA Student Page here, or contact Kelly Ann Ryan, Learning Programs Manager, at kryan@nkba.org.
